Five years of road repairs outlined

Department of Public Works Superintendent Bill Tuttle recently submitted a Road Reconstruction Plan to the Board of Selectmen, which identifies the sections of town roads that will be paved, sealed or drained within the next five years, most with the help of Chapter 90 state aid money.

"Basically, the town is way behind on pavement management and it will take many years for us to catch up, if that's even possible," Tuttle told the board at its March 18 meeting. "Last year we reclaimed and repaved about 3,000 feet for $ 1 8 8 , 0 0 0 . Obviously you can see that we do not get very much bang for the buck. There are many factors that affect the prices including the price of liquid asphalt, diesel fuel, prevailing wage, just to name a few. At these rates two or three miles would cost $600,000 to $800,000."

He said $188,000 of FY09 Chapter 90 money has been used to repair sections of Princeton Road (Reed Road to Stillwater Road and Princeton town line to Route 140 in Sterling), $40,000 spent on crack sealing on Main Street and Beaman Road, and many more projects are in the works for the coming years. Tuttle said the remaining $89,000 in Chapter 90 money will either be used or rolled into the FY10 budget. He said he's been told to expect about the same amount of Chapter 90 money for FY10 ($317,000), but nothing is set in stone.

"Chapter 90 funds are the only monies I get for the roads and obviously I try to stretch every dollar, but it's pretty hard," said Tuttle.

He noted many other town roads are in dire need of repaving and repair. These include sections of Rowley Hill Road, Chace Hill Road, Maple Street, Meetinghouse Hill Road and Main Street. Drainage problems will also be assessed and repaired on Maple Street by Ashton Lane, portions of Tuttle and Osgood roads, and several others.

"The roads are in pretty tough shape but should get better once the frost and water are out of the ground. Temperature swings are usually the biggest factor in road conditions, not necessarily a severe winter. Freezing and thawing do the most damage," said Tuttle.

Chapter 90 money does not fund drainage, and Tuttle said that will pose a challenge to his department when it comes to funding those projects.

"Drainage is funded with a measly $7,000 in my budget. It does not go very far. There are waterway culverts on Gates, Twine, Campground and Lucas roads that need to be replaced, which will cost a small fortune, and I have no idea how to fund them," said Tuttle.

The selectmen voted to support the fiveyear road plan, which has already been approved by the Capital Budget Committee. The plan is subject to change, and the CBC will review it annually.

Some residents chastised the DPW last year for spending Chapter 90 money on the new headquarters on Worcester Road, and the DPW agreed that the Board of Selectmen would review future plans for Chapter 90 funds. The policy was passed by voters at last year's annual town meeting, said Town Administrator Terri Ackerman.

"This is a lot better than no plan, and you can see the money going into road work, which is what it was designed to do," said Ackerman.